Last night, there had been a heavy rain, and the entire city was shrouded in a damp chill.

At seven in the morning, when the alarm rang, Zhuang Zi had already been sitting at her computer desk, studying a reference book for over an hour.

She put down her pen, turned off the alarm on her phone, and leaned back in her chair with frustration, her eyes scanning the book’s densely marked keywords—psychological risk factors, antisocial stimuli, what constitutes personality disorders…various professional terms.

She had no clue at all.

She pressed her lips together, exhaled heavily through her nose, and ran her hands through her hair. When she looked up, her gaze fell on a photo on the desk.

Two young and beautiful girls, their faces close together in an intimate pose. One looked cool and bright, the other charming and lovely, with a noticeable resemblance in their features. In the photo, their smiles were bright and vivid.

It had been half a year since her sister left her, and she still couldn’t accept this fact.

A car accident? An accident?

Zhuang Zi furrowed her brows and glanced out the window. The sky was gray and overcast, looming heavily over the city.

She didn’t believe it!

A clap of thunder broke the silence, pulling her back to reality. She closed her book, turned off the desk lamp, and got up to wash up in the bathroom.

…

It was late October, deep into autumn. Everything was withering, and the weather was dry and cold.

As she walked out of her apartment building, raindrops fell intermittently. The wind stung her face.

Zhuang Zi quickly walked to her car, opened the door, got in, threw her bag onto the passenger seat, fastened her seatbelt, started the engine, and headed to work.

Halfway there, her phone rang. She put on her Bluetooth headset to answer; it was Jiang Zhihao.

“Brother-in-law.”

“Are you on your way to work?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve already made an appointment with Dr. Feng for you. You can go see him directly tomorrow; you’re the first appointment.”

At a red light, she slowly came to a stop. “Okay.”

“Is your insomnia still severe?”

“A bit.”

“How about the headaches?”

“Occasionally.”

“Have you had any more episodes of mental confusion?”

“No.”

Two months ago, a series of strange events began to happen at home.

At first, she didn’t suspect much, thinking they were her own mistakes.

What truly caught her attention was the night after work last Friday.

That night, when she got home, she habitually went to the coffee table to pour herself a glass of water. As she was about to swallow, she looked up and froze on the spot.

She stared in shock at the peace lily on the balcony, feeling as if she had been doused with cold water from head to toe.

That peace lily was a gift from her sister on the day she moved in, and it had always been placed by the TV in the living room for almost two years. She watered and pruned it regularly, taking good care of it, and had never moved it, not even considering doing so.

But why was it suddenly on the balcony?

She stood there in a daze for a moment, then put down her glass, turned, and ran to the bedroom.

There were no signs of rummaging in the house, and nothing valuable was missing from the bedroom cabinet.

She also checked the security door and windows; there were no signs of tampering.

A sense of fear welled up inside her.

Living alone, she went to the security room to check the community surveillance just in case, but found no trace of anything unusual.

The possibility of a break-in was ruled out.

The community security guard asked if she might have moved it to the balcony and forgotten.

Zhuang Zi thought that was impossible. She had a strong memory, well-known to others. She would never forget if she had moved the peace lily.

But the fact remained that there was no evidence of anyone else entering her home.

It was too strange. If she didn’t move it, how could the potted plant have mysteriously changed its position?

Now, every time she saw that peace lily, she felt an inexplicable sense of eeriness.

After several days of fear and anxiety, she couldn’t take it anymore and told Jiang Zhihao about these events.

Since her sister’s death, Jiang Zhihao was the only person in Yicheng she could trust. She could only turn to him for help and analysis.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhihao immediately contacted a specialist in psychiatry and psychology for her.

“Our company once had a young man who developed a similar condition due to post-graduation employment pressure. He was later diagnosed with somnambulism caused by psychological issues.”

Somnambulism?

Zhuang Zi found it hard to believe. Although she had psychological trauma that others couldn’t understand, she didn’t think there was anything abnormal about her bodily functions.

But on second thought, there was no reasonable explanation for the strange things that had happened, and it seemed like this might be the only possibility.

“I’m not in that bad of a state.”

“Just in case, you need to go see the doctor.”

“Okay.” The green light ahead turned on, and she restarted the car. “But I still feel something is wrong.”

“Don’t overthink it, and don’t let your mind wander to bizarre ideas.” On the other end of the phone, Jiang Zhihao was clearly worried. “Your current situation is very dangerous, you know?”

Zhuang Zi responded calmly, “If it’s really an illness, it’s not that scary.”

If it was an illness, the doctor would be her savior. If it was something else, that would be truly terrifying.

Jiang Zhihao was silent for a moment, then spoke again, his voice filled with sorrow, “Zhuang Yao’s sudden accident was due to a relapse of her illness. I don’t want the same tragedy to happen to you.”

Zhuang Zi thought for a moment and asked, “Are you sure it was an accident?”

Jiang Zhihao paused, puzzled, “What else could it be?”

Zhuang Zi focused on the road ahead, “I have a feeling that my sister’s accidental death was unusual.”

Her sister had always been a careful and meticulous person. How could she have been so careless that day, driving herself out when she wasn’t feeling well?

Although she had no evidence yet, she felt that the incident was sudden and strange.

Jiang Zhihao sighed helplessly, his tone sad, “I know you, like me, still can’t accept Zhuang Yao’s accident. But the police have closed the case, confirming it was an accident. I don’t want to believe it either, but we have to accept reality, Zhuang Zi.”

Zhuang Zi remained silent. She didn’t know how to explain. Without reasonable speculation and concrete evidence, saying anything more was futile.

“Brother-in-law, I’m driving. I’ll hang up now.”

“Okay, take care. And remember to see Dr. Feng tomorrow.”

“Yes.”

…..